Bast ripped open the access compartment located under the Operations console and reached for a tricorder, in an attempt to diagnose the problem, when a whine filled the air, accompanied by a faint glow. He recognized it immediately as a transporter system - someone, or something, was beaming in.

He looked up over the console to see a dozen shapes taking form, all spread out at the bridge's periphery.

"Intruder alert!" he shouted.

The sound of a transporter turned Lieutenant JG Marley's head from the helm where she had been sitting and her eyes went wide at the forms materializing on the bridge. She abandoned the useless station and immediately charged one of the figures with the intent of taking at least one by surprised the moment it fully materialized.

The transporter hadn't finished, but Thiago was in motion already. He closed the distance between the command area and where an intruder was being rematerialized near the door to the Ready Room.

Bast rushed one of the attackers, and tackled him to the ground. The solidly-built alien was quick to regain his feet. He was wearing a helmet, a blood-red uniform seemingly made of one piece, and heavy boots that reached up to mid-thigh. A utility belt was at his waist, and a baldric completed the uniform. He was wielding a weapon that was vaguely reminiscent of a crossbow. Bast didn't let his thoughts linger on the attacker's appearance for now, but filed away the observations for later.

Bast turned on his heel, and planted a kick square in the alien's chest. The soldier was pushed into the bulkhead, and collapsed to the deck. His helmet flew off, revealing a reptilian face. But there was little time for study, as the soldier quickly recovered. He was back on his feet, and with one powerful swing of his arm, sent Bast to the deck.

Hannibal saw an intruder materializing beside the tactical console. He formed a slight grin as the intruder tried to line up a shot with his crossbow-type weapon. Instantly, Owens' Krav Maga training kicked in. He grabbed the weapon and the attacker's arm with his right arm and dealt a devastating palm strike with his left hand, breaking his opponent's arm. The attacker howled in pain and swung a wild haymaker, which Owens deftly dodged. Hannibal brought up his left foot and kneed the boarder in the gut. The attacker went down to the floor, screaming in agony. Just then, he heard Bast go down and turned his attention toward the first officer. He drew his phaser and fired two shots, connecting with the second one. Another enemy materialized right behind Owens and knocked him down with the butt of his rifle. Hannibal groaned as he hit the floor and again as the reptilian figure swung his leg and kicked him in the ribs.

Despite trying to get the jump on the invaders, Teixeira was caught off guard by the speed with which the helmeted trooper moved. Thiago was knocked off balance, taking a step or two back, when the figure in red hit him with the butt of his weapon. The Brazilian man swung his foot out, sweeping the legs from under the intruder.

The figure who kicked Hannibal reared back to try again, but Hannibal grabbed his other leg and pulled him down to the floor. He then grabbed his opponent and locked in a rear naked choke from behind. The masked man's arms flailed and finally fell limp. Hannibal slowly rose to his feet to see more helmeted figures beaming in onto the bridge. He drew his phaser and ducked behind a console.

Karyna watched the others fight the intruders. Upon the first sound of transporters, she had dropped to the deck and hidden in the back corner of the alcove of the science station. She was not much for brute force, but if she could gather some data about the boarders, then perhaps she could formulate a retaliation strategy. Unfortunately, she was only able to observe briefly as one of the men in red suits spotted her. As he approached, Karyna looked for something she could use as a weapon. Finding nothing, she balled her hands into fists. As the man reached for her, the Warrant Master Officer lashed out, kicking at the invader's hands. It was to no avail; the intruder was able to grab one of her legs, his fingers wrapping tightly around her slender ankle. "Let go!" she screamed, focusing her free foot on the hand attached to her leg. The helmeted man was silent as he pulled her out from under the console. She struggled as hard as she could, grabbing the console with her hands and trying to resist. The intruder, apparently tired of fighting with her, slammed the butt of his disruptor down on Fordyce's leg with full force, breaking her femur. The sudden pain caused Karyna to shout out several expletives, as well as release her grip on the console. She continued to cry in agony as she was pulled the rest of the way out into the center of the Bridge and left there, sobbing and trying not to look at her twisted leg.

===[Sickbay]===

Taggart hated these kind of alerts. They always made him feel useless. What was he suppose to do? Capture enemy combatants and strap them to a couch? As such, he meandered into the Cochrane's medical facility without any particular hurry. Here at least some of his more basic medical training could be put to use. Mostly it was an exercise in staying out of the way.

When the shimmers of transporters began to appear, Nick could feel the adrenaline hit his blood. Several figures in red appeared within the Medical Bay, weapons at the ready. Feeling frustrated, the blond Counselor kept his hands wide. Without knowing who these people were, there was no way to tell what could be perceived as aggression.

With so many of the ship's systems down, Taggart took a risk and prayed that the computer was still running universal translations. "This is a medical facility. We mean you no harm. We need to remain able to treat the wounded. All of them."

Katniss looked at the unfamiliar man, her instinct was telling her that she should be charging at the intruder but whoever he was, was right, they needed to keep calm and be able to treat anyone who was injured, she gave a smile at the unknown man.

"I surrender." she said holding up her hands in plain sight to show that she was unharmed "But he's right, we need to be able to treat the wounded, I'm a nurse and I don't care if it's my fellow crewmen , or any of your colleagues that may be hurt, but they need treating. So you better call one of your superiors and make good use of me and reiterate that this area here is a sickbay, the people here are ill and need help. They are not to be moved or mistreated." she said quite calmly.

===[Bridge]===

On the bridge, Marley grappled with one of the intruders and succeeded in getting his weapon from him while he was still disoriented from the rematerialization. With a snarl of triumph, she turned it around and fired at point blank range, blowing the alien into the wall before she turned and fired at another. She laughed when it went down as well and dove behind a console as another of the aliens turned her way. It fired and destroyed the console, but the Acting Chief of Flight was already rolling.

"Get them!" she shouted as she made her way to the small weapons locker on the bridge while ducking and seeking cover wherever she could. When she got it open, she began to toss Type II phasers in the direction of the various crew members of the Cochrane.

The Hunters took notice of the phasers flying in different directions. They fired at those who caught the phasers, catching some in center mass, others at limbs. One Hunter saw a Security ensign draw his phaser and so aimed for the Starfleet officer's arm. A green bolt of energy erupted from the disruptor rifle and hit the officer's arm, beginning the burning and painful process of vaporization. The Security officer cried out in pain and clutched at where his hand and arm used to be while falling down. He hit the floor and looked down at his arm in shock. His pulse quickened to a fever pitch as his eyes rolled back into his head.

"No! Evans!" Hannibal cried out while firing from cover. Just then, another Hunter beamed in behind his position and cold cocked him in the back with the butt of his rifle. Hannibal cried out in pain and was again sent to the deck, this time with his head connecting with the floor. More Hunters beamed in to subdue the downed Commander and Lt. Commander.

===[Engineering]===

Down in Engineering, Bennett barked orders to her personnel. "Damage control teams, check those EPS conduits. Dooley, check the intermix ratio! Alton, prepare for a cold start!" she shouted just as intruders materialize in Engineering. She had a feeling they were the entire reason things were the way they were in the first place. Muttering a curse, she grabbed the nearest object she could get her hands on and tossed it at one of the intruders. Her target was missed, but it drew attention to herself and away from the crew who were doing what they could under the circumstances.

Discomfort was an understatement when more than one set of eyes fell on her. It was at that moment, Helen wished she could be anywhere but on board the Cochrane. With a sound of pure rage, she rushed one of the intruders and connected with his midsection, sending him staggering backward a few feet before he regained his footing. Sadly, she didn't see the him bringing his weapon down to connect with the back her head, and by the she felt it, it was too late. She lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground in a heap at his feet, no longer able to attempt to protect those within her department. Now, it was up to them to save themselves and attempt to get the ship going once more.

===[Bridge]===

Once he was confident that his boarding parties had effectively neutralized the crew members aboard the alien starship, a large and broad-shouldered Dosi man beamed aboard the bridge of the Cochrane flanked by two Hunters. His red face had protruding brows and lips that seemed to be locked into a permanent scowl. The white lines and blue dots only seemed to accentuate his expression. He turned his head slowly to survey the damage his boarding crew had done. He turned the corners of his lips into a sinister smile upon seeing the downed crew members and flickering consoles.

His two guards had weapons trained on anyone who moved. There was still a large contingent of Hunters keeping tabs on the remaining crew members. The large Dosi man moved deliberately toward the tan-skinned humanoid who was down on the floor and lifted a booted foot and pressed it down on his chest.

Thiago tried to muscle his way out from under the boot of the Dosi to no avail.

"People of this vessel," he began in a voice that sounded like honey laced with glass shards, "my name is Executor Kreller." He continued applying pressure on the tan-skinned human. "This ship is now property of the Confederacy." He cackled a bit to himself. "Along with everyone aboard."

Unseen by the other alien boarders, Jane checked the two Type II phasers in her possession still. She nudged the setting up to fifteen on both of them and took a deep breath. What the rest of the crew was doing or had done was now irrelevant. She listened to a voice that belonged to someone who called himself Executor Kreller and tried to pinpoint it. With another deep breath, she pushed herself to her and fired on any intruder that wasn't wearing a Starfleet uniform, hitting one of the guards and vaporizing him while the other shots taking out others but missed the main man.

Kreller looked to his left and saw the Hunter beside him vaporize. He rolled his eyes and drew his own disruptor from his hip holster. "You obviously have no value for your own lives," he said. He fired several quick shots to where the phaser shots came from. "I can tell you that you are worth far more to us alive," he said, and then paused, relishing the situation. "Although some of you have decided otherwise," he said softly. He took a device from his left pocket and pressed it. He smiled as he continued to press his foot down on the downed man in front of him.

Upon his button press, two more Hunters came in behind Jane Marley, rifles at the ready. They had the young woman square in their sights. They both fired, hitting her in center mass. Their masked helmets betrayed no emotion, only cold indifference. More Hunters beamed in to replace those lost.

Marley went down hard when she was stunned, the phasers clattering out of her limp hands. She had tried, though, and that was counted.

Between gaps of consciousness, Hannibal could see faint outlines of the Hunters coldly murdering and maiming the crew of the Cochrane. He focused on his breathing. Survive, he thought, that's all you can do right now.

"I can do this all day," Kreller said while laughing. "The question is, can you?" He continued to press his foot down on the tan-skinned man's chest and chuckled at his choked gasps for air.

"Take them," Kreller said to his Hunters. "Restrain them and transport them to holding cells." He pointed to Jane Marley's slumped form. "Keep that feisty one aside," he said, "she may be worth something to a client with large pockets." The Hunters on the bridge moved quickly and efficiently when applying the restraints to the officers on the bridge.

Kreller pulled out the same device and spoke into it. The Hunter's communicator's all started echoing in unison throughout the ship. "This is Executor Kreller," he said. "Secure your areas and restrain all personnel, take care not to harm them too much, they will bring the Confederacy more profit alive. Do this, and you will be rewarded as well."

The pain from her broken leg hadn't subsided. Master Warrant Officer Fordyce was still laying on the deck near the center of the Bridge, her tears soaking into the floor covering. Between the pain and her tears, it was difficult for her to keep up with what was going on around her.

As two of the Hunters lifted him up and shackled his hands behind his back, Bast let out a groan of pain, only to be rewarded by a blow to the base of the neck, delivered by the butt of a rifle. Sparks filled his field of vision, and everything went dark again.

===[Sickbay]===

"Just waited a minute" Dana said as the intruders began to restrain people "These people are sick, they can't be man handled like that, they need..." Dana stopped as one of them was heading straight towards her. She backed up and looked around. "I demand to see Executor Kreller...I need to explain the situation to him...I want to see Kreller...NOW." she yelled the anger finally showing in her voice.

===[Bridge]===

Kreller looked around and saw Ensign Evans slumped to the floor, missing an arm and face frozen in eternal shock. He growled and grumbled, whipping his head around to find the Hunter who'd killed the ensign. "Who did this?!" he bellowed. "I told you to take them alive!"

The Hunters looked around casually. Kreller grew even more upset.

"If the Hunter who did this doesn't speak up, then I will start shooting!" he roared. "You can be replaced!"

Finally, one of the helmeted troopers restraining Hannibal raised his hand and spoke up. "Executor," he said, calmly dignified, "I am Hunter Eetak. It was I who killed the humanoid. He presented a threat to the boarding party. If it pleases the Executor, I will accept my punishment."

"Good," Kreller tersely said to the Hunter. He took out his disruptor and fired in one swift motion. The Hunter crumbled and disappeared in a beam of silver light. Kreller looked around at the other Hunters.

"Know. Your. Place." he said through gritted teeth. The Hunters went back to their duties, this time at double the speed at which they previously worked. He once again picked up his communicator. "This is the Executor," he began, "arm the tractor beam. It's time to take our prize to our secure facility." He paused and took a deep breath. "I have a feeling that we're in for the biggest profit of our lifetime." He placed the communicator back into his pocket, folded his arms, and grinned a sinister smile again.

Struggling against the men who were pulling him from the bridge, Thiago managed to force out, "Executor!" It hurt, likely as a result of Kreller having stood on his chest, but he couldn't let labored breathing stop him from saying his peace. He struggled, breaking free from his captors. "This ship is property of..." He was unable to finish his sentence. He fell to the deck, one of the Hunters having struck him in the back with his weapon. Before Teixeira could get right himself, his captors grabbed him by the feet, and returned to dragging him out of the Cochrane's command center.

Fordyce watched Teixeira get dragged out of the room through teary eyes. The pain of her fractured leg had seemingly subsided, a sure sign of shock. She needed medical attention to stabilize the break. Fortunately, Kreller seemingly had an interest in keeping them all alive; she could use that to her advantage, possibly, to get the treatment she needed.